Letting It All Sink In

Most of the links I’ve collected over the last couple of days for further consideration and possible posting have had to do with national politics, and I’m not much in the mood to join the chorus, right now. I will say, though, that the implications of the election are encouraging, irrespective of the president elect (that is, if he stays out of their way).

A pivotal moment came for me the other evening when I heard Rudy Giuliani discussing possible appointments that might fill out the Trump administration. For most of them, it was a reminder that, before they backed Trump in the first place, I liked how most of these people approach policy issues. This positive reminder has been reinforced by talk from the other side. Here one clip from several local environmentalists’ press releases, which Alex Kuffner cut up and reprinted as a Providence Journalarticle:

“With an uncertain future and a federal government now determined to stop us at every turn, the innovative environmental work happening on the local and regional level is more important than ever,” said Josh Block, press secretary of the Conservation Law Foundation.

Sure, it’s a call to keep local funding going for crony projects and activism for economic deterioration, but if it’s not being pushed and largely funded from Washington, D.C., maybe Rhode Island can have an actual discussion of the policies. Similarly for education:

Tim Duffy, the executive director of the Rhode Island Association of School Superintendents, worries that Republicans, who now control the House and Senate, will make good on their threats to cut federal spending on education, and possibly move to abolish the Department of Education in its entirety. …

Another area of uncertainty is school choice. Trump has proposed $20 billion to expand school choice for low-income children. Students could use the money to attend private, charter and traditional public schools of their choice.

Even the possibility that the federal government might put families first by skipping over the corrupt and inefficient educational bureaucracy to give federal education resources directly to families who need them is tantalizing. As is this, via email, from Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza:

These results, and the current state of our nation, present a new opportunity and responsibility for cities to play a much larger role in shaping our democracy. As the mayor of Providence, I commit to doubling down on my efforts to advance a society that is inclusive, compassionate, and forward-thinking.

Yes, yes, he’s talking about “doubling down” on a worldview that is destructive and inimical to freedom and self actualization, but maybe without the federal government imposing progressivism from above and funding activists with tax dollars, we can actually make key decisions at the local level, where they ought to be made.

Nobody should be surprised when our dishonest president-elect looks for ways to back out of difficult promises, but even if his administration only partially reins in the corrosion and abuse of our civic system, we’ll be entering a new era.

What happens when Providence comes under review
for being a sanctuary city? Perhaps the Mayor should start planning….

Rhett Hardwick

Here are some suggestions for the mayor from across the nation, Students at Cornell University gathered on a major campus thoroughfare for a “Cry in”, school staff provided tissue and hot chocolate. Tufts offered arts & crafts, plus Play-doh. U of Kansas offered therapy dogs. Many universities have canceled exams and called in grief counselors. Accepting “loss” for the “participation trophy” generation is difficult. Perhaps they don’t realize that they are part of the reason. Had Trump lost, can you imagine his “undereducated white male” supporters blocking highways, smashing windows and burning cars?